Gardens At Kew, Sunset 1892

Camille Pissarro painted 'Gardens at Kew, Sunset', using oil on canvas, with visible brushstrokes and an Impressionistic style, which was a relatively novel approach at the time. Pissarro's decision to capture this scene at Kew Gardens speaks volumes about the changing social landscape of the late 19th century. Kew Gardens was not just a place of natural beauty, but also a carefully curated display of wealth, power, and the global reach of the British Empire. By choosing this subject, Pissarro subtly engages with themes of labor, leisure, and class. The artwork is also evocative because it depicts the amount of manual labor required to create and maintain a constructed landscape such as this, with the contrast between the working class and the leisured class apparent. By considering Pissarro's materials, making process, and socio-political context, we gain a richer understanding of the artwork's meaning, challenging any strict distinctions between fine art and craft, to include social commentary.